CARMEL, Calif. – Conditions are prime and so is the field of competitors, as The Preserve Golf Club readies for the 28th Annual Stocker Cup, October 24-26.

Defending champion John Sawin of Pebble Beach, who captured his second Stocker Cup individual championship in 2018, returns to face a field that includes 21 competitors who have won their state Mid-Amateur championship in 15 states.

The 54-hole individual competition features a simultaneous best-ball event, similar to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Invited Mid-Amateur players are either paired with a single digit amateur or can propose their own partner to be introduced and invited by the Committee. The 2019 field is comprised of 25% Californians and 75% from the rest of the United States.

The Stocker Cup was founded in 1991 to honor the memory of Peter Stocker, a real estate developer who is recognized as the man behind the creation of Santa Lucia Preserve and considered “the quintessential amateur golfer.”

“This year’s field may be the most competitive ever,” said host golf professional Brian Sleeman. “Very favorable late summer and fall weather contributed to superb conditions that will challenge this field.”

The highly regarded Tom Fazio Design is rated among America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses by Golf Digest. The Preserve’s fairways are Santa Ana Hybrid Bermudagrass, which produce firm and fast playing conditions throughout the year. The course’s strategically placed bunkers, which were renovated in 2016, and quick A4 bentgrass greens, contribute to challenging approach shots. For the Stocker Cup, the course will be set up to approximately 7100 yards.

The 2019 Stocker Cup will feature “at the turn” scoring powered by Golf Genius, AmateurGolf.com, and the NCGA. For the final round, the leading groups will be scored electronically through all 18 holes, providing an enhanced tournament experience for players and friends at the course or anywhere in the world. Those results can be streamed at www.stockercup.com starting Thursday, October 24.

The Preserve Golf Club is located within the Santa Lucia Preserve, a private community of only 300 home sites situated on 20,000 acres – approximately one and a half times the size of Manhattan – and the only community in America with a perpetually endowed, 18,000-acre nature conservancy. In the heart of the Monterey Peninsula, The Santa Lucia Preserve provides its resident and members with a range of recreational opportunities second to none, while offering a unique ethos of community, culture, and conservation.

FEATURED PLAYERS

Joseph Deraney (Belden, Miss.) was the runner-up in the 2019 U.S. Mid-Amateur; also won the 2018-2019 Canadian Mid-Amateur, competed in the PGA Tour Bell Canadian Open, won the 2019 Mississippi State Amateur, the 2018 Carlton Woods Invitational, and the 2018 Timuquana Cup >> view profile

Colby Harwell (San Antonio, Texas) won the 2019 Texas Mid-Am Match Play as well as the 2017-2018 Texas Mid-Amateur, and is a past champion of the Carlton Woods Invitational and Crane Cup >> view profile

John Sawin (Pebble Beach, Calif.) is the defending Stocker Cup champion and also won in 2013; past Pennsylvania Amateur champion >> view profile

Bobby Leopold (Coventry, R.I.) won the 2019 Rhode Island Mid-Amateur (his fourth), and is a past champion of the New England Amateur and Crane Cup >> view profile

Patrick Christovich (New Orleans, La.) is a past champion of the Coleman Invitational, Birmingham National Invitational, and the Timuquana Cup; and is a four-time Louisiana Mid-Amateur champion >> view profile

Kenneth Cook (Noblesville, Ind.) won the 2019 Indiana Mid-Amateur and is a past U.S. Mid-Amateur runner-up >> view profile

Roger Newsom (Virginia Beach, Va.) was the runner-up in the 2019 U.S. Senior Amateur, won the 2019 Lowcountry Senior, and qualified for 2019 U.S. Senior Open >> view profile

The Stocker Cup was founded in 1991 to honor
the
memory of Peter Stocker. Peter and his
partners Bill
Harlan and John Montgomery founded San
Francisco's
Pacific Union Company, a highly successful real
estate
development company. The firm initiated the
development of The Santa Lucia Preserve, a
20,000
acre residential and golf community located
above
Carmel. Meandering through the winding road
to
The
Preserve's centerpiece -- the top-100 rated golf
course -- has been described as "driving
through a California postcard." The Stocker Cup
was played from 1991 to 1999 at Pebble Beach
and
its
surrounding golf courses, before moving to the
Tom
Fazio and Sandy Tatum designed Preserve G.C.
In
the
words of former USGA President Tatum: "Peter
Stocker was the quintessential amateur golfer.
He
loved golf with a passion. He would have loved
this
tournament."

FORMAT: 54-hole individual
competition
with
a
simultaneous best-ball event, similar to the
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Invited Mid-
Amateur
players are either paired with a single digit
amateur
or
can propose their own partner to be introduced
and
invited by the Committee.